Page 59 of Fourteen of a Kind

She stared at me with her cold eyes. “I’m not sure why you’re asking me to do this. You’re a child.”

“I’m a neurosurgeon, Grandma. Remember?”

“Yes. I remember.” She looked away, walked to the kitchen, and gripped the edges of the island. “What time tomorrow?”

“Any time you want. I don’t have any surgeries scheduled.”

“I can come in around eleven o’clock.”

“Thanks, Grandma.” I walked over and hugged her. “Just come to my office. I’ll be in there waiting for you.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I must tend to the flowers outside.” She walked out the door.

“Thank you, Ella.” My grandfather hugged me. “You know she won’t listen to me.”

“I know.” I gave a sympathetic smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Grandpa.”

CHAPTER 18

Ella

I went up to the rooftop to grab a cup of coffee. I hadn’t heard from Graham since he left my house yesterday, but I didn’t care. I had other things to deal with that were more important.

Standing in line, I felt two hands grip my shoulders from behind. Turning around, Graham stood with a smile on his face.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning.” My lips formed a small smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t contact you last night. I was busy.”

“That’s okay. I was, too.” I ordered my coffee.

“Put her coffee with mine,” Graham said.

“You don’t have to buy my coffee.”

“Yeah, I do. It’s an apology coffee for not texting or calling. Forgive me?” His bottom lip jetted out into a pout.

“You are forgiven.” A smile crossed my lips.

We took our coffee over to a table and sat down.

“I only have about fifteen minutes. My grandma is coming in for an MRI.”

“You convinced her?” He tipped the cup to his lips.

“It wasn’t easy, but yeah.”

“What time does your shift end?” he asked.

“Six o’clock. Why?”

“I get off at seven. How about you come to my place tonight? I’ll stop on the way home and pick something up for dinner.”

“Or we could just order a pizza,” I said.

“Pizza sounds good.” The corners of his mouth curved upward. “So, that’s a yes?” His brow arched.